"Possessing opinions is like possessing fish, assuming one has a fish pond. One has to go fishing and needs some luck - then one has one's own fish, one's own opinions. I am speaking of live opinions, of live fish. Others are satisfied if they own a cabinet of fossils - and in their heads, "convictions".- Friedrich Nietzsche

Heralding the arrival of a new publication from The Weird House, the first edition of House Harris, a news publication that should provide a window into current affairs in Australia with articles from the Australian Associated Press who should be credited and duly paid their royalties.

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The 54-year-old One Nation founder is contesting the Gold Coast hinterland seat of Beaudesert in the March 21 Queensland state election.More...

Feature Story
Teenagers charged after violent school rampage

SYDNEY, March 2 AAP - Four teenagers allegedly terrorised students and staff with a tomahawk and a machete during a glass-smashing rampage at a Sydney private school.

Trinity Catholic College in Auburn went into lockdown about 8.15am (AEDT) on Monday after the school canteen, a car and glass noticeboards were destroyed.More...

Feature Story
More job cuts as govt and opposition brawl over stimulus

CANBERRA, Feb 26 AAP - The federal government has been accused of creating panic after a senior minister said no one's job is safe.

There was more bad news on Thursday with commercial property manager Lend Lease announcing it would cut 340 jobs in Australia, a day after Pacific Brands said it would axe 1,850 positions.More...

Feature Story
Australia 'may escape' recession

SYDNEY, Feb 23 AAP - Australia may escape a recession in 2009, although analysts say a sluggish housing sector and possible downgrades to state government credit ratings could affect confidence in the economy.

The world's premier economies of the US, Japan and Germany are already in recession, along with at least 11 other industrialised countries.More...

Feature Story
Stimulus package projects to be fast tracked in NSW

SYDNEY, Feb 18 AAP - Infrastructure built in NSW from federal government's $42 billion stimulus package will bypass the usual planning and local government approval.

Instead, Premier Nathan Rees says the projects, including public housing and schools, will be approved by the newly appointed Infrastructure Coordinator General.More...

Feature Story
Stimulus package clears parliament - now for the hard part

CANBERRA, Feb 13 AAP - The Rudd government cleared a final hurdle to get its $42 billion economic injection through parliament but the International Monetary Fund says the key now is to implement its stimulus plan.

Following a fortnight of parliamentary wrangling, the government can now begin spending its $42 billion package of cash handouts and infrastructure investment after securing the passage of legislation through the Senate.More...

Feature Story
New stimulus package passes house, goes to senate

CANBERRA, Feb 12 AAP - The Rudd government will have a second crack at getting its $42 billion economic stimulus package through the Senate on Friday after a new version passed the lower house late on Thursday night.

The amended package, introduced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, will see cash handouts to low and middle-income earners and single-income families cut by $50, a concession won by the Australian Greens.More...

Feature Story
Ninety-three dead as fires continue to rage across Victoria

MELBOURNE, Feb 9 AAP - Ninety-three people are confirmed dead in Australia's deadliest bushfires that have scorched Victoria, with fears the death toll may rise sharply.

There was little rest for many firefighters overnight, with 25 bushfires still raging out of control at 3.30am (AEDT) on Monday.More...

The government increased pressure on the coalition on Friday as it prepared to work out a deal with crossbench Senators to get the nation building and jobs plan through the Upper House next week.More...

Feature Story
Govt unveils $42 billion buffer against world recession

CANBERRA, Feb 3 AAP - The federal government has unveiled a massive $42 billion nation building and employment plan aimed at retaining 90,000 jobs over the next two years and insulating Australia against the worst of the global economic recession.

Billed as a "rapid response" to the deteriorating global economic conditions, the centrepiece of the 72-page plan is $28.8 billion of spending on schools, housing, energy efficiency in homes, community infrastructure and roads, and support to small business to be delivered mostly in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

More...Feature Story
More grim economic news as political battle heats up

CANBERRA, Feb 2 AAP - The suspicion that Australia's economic outlook is far worse than publicly acknowledged became a reality with a sickening thud on Monday.

Back in November, the Mid-Year-Economic and Fiscal Outlook revealed a $40 billion hole in government revenue over the next four years but the surplus was still intact as a straitened $5.4 billion.More...

Feature Story
Southeast under strain as heatwave takes its toll

MELBOURNE, Jan 30 AAP - As far as heatwaves go, the sweltering conditions in south-eastern Australia this week are remarkable.

Tens of thousands of people were left without power, train tracks buckled and the Australian Open tennis tournament came under attack for putting players at risk.More...

All House Harris News Articles are individually selected by The Editor

Main Feature Story

Metro Melbourne rocked by magnitude 4.6 tremor

By Simon Mossman
06 Mar 2009 10:26 PM

MELBOURNE, March 6 AAP - The centre of Melbourne has been rocked by an earth tremor, with residents reporting buildings shaking across the metropolitan area.

Geoscience Australia, which monitors earthquake activity, said the tremor measured magnitude 4.6 on the Richter scale, with the epicentre at Korumburra, about 90km southeast of Melbourne.

The US Geological Survey reported on its website that the tremor, which hit at 8.55pm (AEDT) on Friday, measured 4.7.

"There's not much difference between 4.6 and 4.7 but we're still registering it as a 4.6," Geoscience Australia's duty seismologist Phil Cummins told AAP.

"There were many reports from across a wide area - this was felt across a 100km radius.

MELBOURNE, March 6 AAP - The centre of Melbourne has been rocked by an earth tremor, with worried residents reporting buildings shaking across the metropolitan area.More...

US: 'Professor' Obama lances healthcare poison in TV debate

WASHINGTON, March 6 AFP - Juggling the roles of professor, conciliator, salesman and crafty political strategist, President Barack Obama launched his healthcare reform drive with the most mild-mannered open debate.More...

Qld: Qld activates disaster centre amid cyclone threat

BRISBANE, March 6 AAP - Queensland's disaster coordination centre has been activated as the state's flood-ravaged north braces for tropical Cyclone Hamish.More...

Vic: Bushfire victims slugged more to build new fire-proof homes

CALLIGNEE, Vic, March 6 AAP - Bushfire survivors rebuilding in Victoria's worst fire risk areas will be slugged an extra $22,000 to make their homes safer.More...

Qld: More flood warnings for north as cyclone moves closer

BRISBANE, March 6 AAP - Ingham, North Queensland's worst flood-affected town, can expect more rain and flash flooding within the next 24 hours as a tropical cyclone moves south.More...

CAN: Schizophrenic Canada bus beheading man found not guilty

A Chinese immigrant who beheaded and hacked a Canadian bus passenger to pieces in front of horrified travellers .. has been found not guilty of murder after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.More...

QLD: Man who made pregnancy pact with stepdaughter loses appeal

BRISBANE, March 6 AAP - A man who tried to impregnate his 15-year-old stepdaughter because he and his wife desperately wanted another child has failed in a bid to have his sentence reduced.More...

SYDNEY, March 6 AAP - Sydney's Oxford Street will be an alcohol-free zone during the Mardi Gras parade on Saturday, with police warning people not to become drunken thugs.More...

NT: 300 youths brawl at Darwin shopping centre, city bombed

Police in Darwin have warned they're taking a zero tolerance approach after three separate incidents across the city.More...

Vic: Youths jailed over arson attack on mentally ill man

Four young men have been jailed for five years in Victoria for setting a mentally ill man on fire .. leaving him permanently disfigured.More...

Qld: Dengue fever spreads west

The dengue fever outbreak that's killed a woman in far north Queensland has spread west from Cairns to the Atherton Tableland town of Mareeba.More...

NT: 300 youths brawl in Darwin; homemade bombs hit city

DARWIN, March 6 AAP - Up to 300 youths have brawled at a Darwin shopping centre and homemade bombs have been set off elsewhere in the city.More...

ATSB fails to find cause for Qantas cylinder rupture

CANBERRA, March 6 AAP - How an oxygen cylinder came to blow a hole in a Qantas jumbo jet carrying 365 passengers and crew on a flight out of Hong Kong remains a complete mystery.More...

Qld: Man who made pregnancy pact with stepdaughter loses appeal

A man who tried to impregnate his 15-year-old stepdaughter because he and his wife desperately wanted another child has failed to have his sentence reduced.More...

QLD: Body of elderly man found in submerged tractor

BRISBANE, March 6 AAP - Police divers have found the body of an elderly man in a tractor submerged by floodwaters in Queensland.More...

US: End violence against women: UN chief

UNITED NATIONS, March 5 AFP - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called on world leaders to end violence against women in their countries, in a speech ahead of International Women's Day.More...

US: US space tourist shrugs off 10 mln dollar price hike

STAR CITY, Russia, March 5 AFP - American software tycoon Charles Simonyi on Thursday shrugged off a $US10 million ($A15.41 million) price hike by Russia for his next space flight, saying space tourism was the way of the future.More...

NSW: Qld police seize Hanson election funding tapes.

Queensland police have requested tapes of a television program showing One Nation founder PAULINE HANSON becoming emotional as she was questioned over electoral funding.More...

EUR: Dutch border towns to shut marijuana cafes

THE HAGUE, March 5 AFP - Two Dutch towns say their eight cannabis "coffee shops" will be closed within the next six months to ward off the 25,000 marijuana-smoking tourists who flood their communities every week.More...

FED: The arrival of a superpower - Iran on the rise

CANBERRA, March 5 AAP - Robert Baer is uniquely positioned to talk about Iran.More...

NSW: Police seize $300,000 worth of cannabis plants.

SYDNEY, March 5 AAP - Police have charged two men on the NSW far north coast after finding cannabis plants with an estimated street value of about $300,000.More...

NSW: Man dies after stopping car in middle of motorway

SYDNEY, March 5 AAP - A man is dead after being hit by a semi-trailer on the M5 Motorway in Sydney's southwest, police say.More...

WA: Man charged over python haul

PERTH, March 5 AAP - An alleged wildlife smuggler's been caught with a dozen pythons stashed in his car.More...

WA: Police lay murder charge without a body

PERTH, March 5 AAP - A man has been charged with the murder of an itinerant worker, despite his body never being found.More...

Vic: Police begin interviewing Marysville residents

MARYSVILLE, Vic, March 5 AAP - Police are interviewing residents in the bushfire-devastated Victorian town of Marysville, hoping to establish the cause of the killer blaze which they fear may be the work of an arsonist.More...

Fed: Home lenders want home buyers grant extended

Home loan providers want the federal government to extend the increased first home owners grant beyond June to help boost the sluggish housing market.More...

NSW: Footbridge collapses onto truck, car

SYDNEY, March 5 AAP - A truck has hit a footbridge over a NSW highway causing it to collapse onto another truck and car travelling behind.More...

NSW: Man and woman allegedly stole copper from abandonned house

SYDNEY, March 5 AAP - A man and a woman have been charged for stealing copper wiring from an abandoned house in Sydney, police say.More...

US: Exhibit has Poe letter apologizing for drinking

RICHMOND, Virginia, March 4 AP - Edgar Allan Poe apologises to his publishers for drinking too much and asks them to buy an article because he's "desperately pushed for money" in an 1842 letter acquired by the University of Virginia for an exhibition marking the author's 200th birthday.More...

NSW: Gas cylinder on fire in south west Sydney

SYDNEY, March 4 AAP - A one kilometre evacuation zone has been set up around a factory in Sydney's south-west following a gas explosion.More...

EUR: World War II bomb found in German neighbourhood

BERLIN, March 4 AP - German police in the northern city of Bremen say they have evacuated more than 100 homes and apartments to carry out the controlled-detonation of a 225kg World War II-era bomb.More...

NSW: Gas cyclinder explodes in south west Sydney

Fire authorities have had to set up a one kilometre evacuation zone around a factory in Sydney's south-west overnight following a gas explosion.More...

FED: Tree change predicted under emissions trading

Australia is set for a tree change .. with great swathes of farmland expected to be taken over by forests under emissions trading.More...

SA: Woman and son killed

Police in Adelaide are searching the area around a home in the city's north .. where a woman and her two-year-old son have been stabbed to death.More...

FED: Financial crisis no reason to delay uni reforms: Larkins

The head of Australia's peak university body has called on the federal government NOT to delay overhauling the higher education sector because of the global financial crisis.More...

Vic: Woman dies in unit fire

MELBOURNE, March 5 AAP - An elderly woman died when her unit was engulfed by fire late on Tuesday.More...

Vic: Ombudsman report into council bribery claims close

MELBOURNE, March 4 AAP - A Victorian Ombudsman's "explosive" report into alleged bribery, intimidation and misuse of funds at a Melbourne suburban council is expected to be released within weeks.More...

SA: Mum murdered by husband and sons over money: court told

ADELAIDE, March 4 AAP - A mother was murdered by her two sons and estranged husband because she was attempting to take millions of dollars from the "family pot", an Adelaide court has been told.More...